[CodenameBK201]

And then there's the other end of the spectrum re: pricing...

Might just have to make "Haha ant no way. My headphone where 400 an I have a sound card." my new signature.

 

[Doug2507]

And then there's the other end of the spectrum re: pricing...




Might just have to make "Haha ant no way. My headphone where 400 an I have a sound card." my new signature.

Don't tell them about CRA+, they're pretty good for COD Mobile.

 

[fiascogarcia]

And then there's the other end of the spectrum re: pricing...




Might just have to make "Haha ant no way. My headphone where 400 an I have a sound card." my new signature.

If you take that sig, I get "quit confort"!

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Does the Woo Audio WA8 Eclipse count?

Absolutely. It is a real tube amp. But, it doesn't use the full sized tubes. Not sure how the OP defines real tube.

 

[Damz87]

The thing is (and I feel like this merits a larger discussion, re: pricing trends in general), I find myself feeling the same way about most of the flagship recent releases. For better or worse, I've found myself progressively priced out of this rabbit hole we call a hobby, so much so that, aside from my wife surprising me with my IEMs, I find myself pretty much perpetually limited to the classifieds. When I purchased my Noble K10s about a decade ago, they ran me a little over $2000 (a couple hundred more when you factor in the cost of impressions and the custom Wizard design); nowadays, the lower end of flagships tends to come in around the ~3400 USD mark, if not more. I'm eyeing the Thummim, for example: at ~$2500 secondhand, it seems like you're getting a lot for what you're getting; at $4500 new, while I'm sure some are willing, and have, paid that much, the harsh reality is that IEMs then fall outside of my affordable budget.

I know perception of value is a sensitive topic, and we're all aware of the nature of diminishing returns past a certain dollar amount, but still, it's...disheartening, to say the least, to see the way prices have risen in recent years. I see a lot of vitriol thrown around on places like reddit/headphones (I know, I know, we don't mention the "r" word here), primarily a lot of complaints and insults and blame-throwing about how "companies are greedy" and "people who buy headphones that expensive are suckers", but the truth is, inflation and rising costs have hit everything. I still remember not 12 years ago how a Hot Toys Iron Man would run $150 flat at a local comic shop; now you pay around the $340 mark from Sideshow, and that's before tax and shipping. It's probably why the Supermoon feels like such a solid buy at $1500.

IEMs are luxury items, so it's not like they have to be affordable, and I certainly can't speak for everyone, but I can at least say, for myself, personally, the $1500-$2500 range is the sweet spot for me in terms of how much I can reasonably justify (to my wife) for my purchases; past that and it largely becomes a game of wait and see for open-box/demo/used units.

Oh I agree with you completely, flagship IEM prices are ridiculous. The upward trending price of flagship IEM’s has forced me to change my approach to this hobby and I have be more selective with my purchases. That’s the reason why I specifically said Trifecta is not something I’d consider buying at its asking price, for my tastes and priorities. If I had a rich uncle with an unlimited bank account, I’d absolutely love to buy Trifecta because even though it’s not necessarily to my taste, it does something unique (to me) with it’s analogue presentation. However, my music preferences don’t warrant owning that particular type of specialist IEM at that price. It simply wouldn’t get listened to enough to justify tying up $3k+ that could be better spent on another IEM that suits my library and preferences closer.

When Thummim first released, it was my 2nd $4k+ IEM purchase and I remember thinking it was such an outlier at the time. It’s scary to think that was only a couple of years ago and how $4k is almost like the norm for a flagship IEM these days. Thankfully there are loads of great IEMs still being released below $4k and imho those IEM’s in almost all cases sound just as technically adept as their $4k+ counterparts, sometimes even moreso. I’d suggest continuing your search within your budget because I’m sure you’d be able to find what you’re looking for within that price category, either new or by waiting a few months on the secondhand market.

 

[CodenameBK201]

Oh I agree with you completely, flagship IEM prices are ridiculous.

I'm not certain I'd go that far. I don't necessarily feel  that strongly on it.

The upward trending price of flagship IEM’s has forced me to change my approach to this hobby and I have be more selective with my purchases.

This bit, though, definitely. The thing is, I can't necessarily ding IEM manufacturers. Everything is more expensive. Toys have practically doubled in terms of price. Action figures that would have been $15 a few years ago are now $24.99 regularly. I'm paying more for vegetables than for meat at the supermarket which is insane to me. I get it: these are luxury goods and they're precision engineered. Stuff's expensive, yo. I imagine most of the audio companies have a harder time than, say, toy companies when you factor in just how much (read: all) of the manufacturing is hand-done. I'm not saying "this is ridiculous/greedy and a ripoff". What I'm saying is, as inflation and soaring costs continue exponentially on most things from essentials to luxuries, I'm forced, as a father on a fixed income (with fun medical things thrown in to boot) to be that much more selective.

 

[raylu]

Really can’t wait (Custom Multiverse Mentor in progress)

 

[Damz87]

I'm not certain I'd go that far. I don't necessarily feel  that strongly on it.

This bit, though, definitely. The thing is, I can't necessarily ding IEM manufacturers. Everything is more expensive. Toys have practically doubled in terms of price. Action figures that would have been $15 a few years ago are now $24.99 regularly. I'm paying more for vegetables than for meat at the supermarket which is insane to me. I get it: these are luxury goods and they're precision engineered. Stuff's expensive, yo. I imagine most of the audio companies have a harder time than, say, toy companies when you factor in just how much (read: all) of the manufacturing is hand-done. I'm not saying "this is ridiculous/greedy and a ripoff". What I'm saying is, as inflation and soaring costs continue exponentially on most things from essentials to luxuries, I'm forced, as a father on a fixed income (with fun medical things thrown in to boot) to be that much more selective.

For sure. Inflation’s a bitch, especially when you’re a parent and wage growth doesn’t keep up. I wish you all the best, mate!

 

[CodenameBK201]

For sure. Inflation’s a bitch, especially when you’re a parent and wage growth doesn’t keep up. I wish you all the best, mate!

That and medical copays. Daycare costs as much as my rent, if you can believe it. My music keeps me sane, but yeah, I'll be happy if I can narrow to two IEMs: one fun-tuned all-rounder and one that's just weird enough to keep things interesting.

 

[Damz87]

That and medical copays. Daycare costs as much as my rent, if you can believe it. My music keeps me sane, but yeah, I'll be happy if I can narrow to two IEMs: one fun-tuned all-rounder and one that's just weird enough to keep things interesting.

I can definitely believe it, lol. At one point in time, daycare for both my kids costed more than my wife’s income. It was literally costing us money for her to work. Those days have passed for us thankfully but it certainly was a tough time and I feel for anyone going through it these days, especially with all the other inflationary pressures.

 

[Ike1985]

For sale section is the way, let the guys with huge wallets who buy IEM's constantly subsidize the cost for you. It's the only way that makes sense IMO. OR restrict your purchases to very rare instances like me. I demo a ton but only buy once every couple years when there's a clear jump in sound quality and not just incremental improvements, now is actually that time IMO as BCD, quad/tri brids are the norm. We're reaching a peak and innovation should settle for awhile IMO. Also there's old devices that provide exceptional sound, people always want the newest thing yet the ALO CDM is absolutely spectacular as an amp, it's 10 years old and probably could be had for $1k. Used Hugo2 will smoke all DAPs in terms of sound quality, it costs way less, probably could be had for $1.5k. Of course these are devices I own so I'm biased but these are my thoughts being in the hobby for 9 years. Also VE8 and KR5, either one of those used will be very competitive with the TOTL today and a steal IMO. Also take advantage of the watercooler tours in the tour thread so you can HEAR where the market is at any given time so you know when it's a good time to buy, otherwise you have no idea. Also just being able to hear the flagships often means you wont be wondering what everything sounds like. FOMO will largely begone when you can hear things often.

 

[Stu Paddasso]

I love the fact iem manufacturers are pushing the sound barriers and giving us better-sounding gear. But there is a pricing point that takes it out of the working class afford ability and into the rich-only market. I think there should be an emphasis on great bang for the buck iem's like Szalayi & Supermoon.

 

[wolfstar76]

For sale section is the way, let the guys with huge wallets who buy IEM's constantly subsidize the cost for you. It's the only way that makes sense IMO. OR restrict your purchases to very rare instances like me. I demo a ton but only buy once every couple years when there's a clear jump in sound quality and not just incremental improvements.

Good news is there are still some good old IEMs that are not outclassed by the new toys, such as Z1R.

 

[Stu Paddasso]

I just got in Hyla Sarda. "ME LIKEY''

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I can definitely believe it, lol. At one point in time, daycare for both my kids costed more than my wife’s income. It was literally costing us money for her to work. Those days have passed for us thankfully but it certainly was a tough time and I feel for anyone going through it these days, especially with all the other inflationary pressures.

We experienced the same thing when our second son was born. So, my wife retired and we lived on just my income from that point on. So, it was much harder for me to quit my job and start my own business. I had a lot of sleepless nights wondering how I was going to pay all of the bills with none coming in to start. That's how I became such a night owl and how I live with normally 3 hours or less of sleep a day. Whenever I wake up, I just can't go back to sleep. So, I just wake up and start doing work or posting on headfi.